Earlier when I announced the SNK sale I mentioned that there was a PSN sale coming as well … and here it is! Called ’12 for 12′, it is a PS3-specific (in other words, nothing for me!) sale, with decent deals … if you are a PSN-Plus member! Here are the deals:

• Eufloria Regular $9.99, Sale $6.99, Plus $4.89
• Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection Regular $9.99, Sale $6.99, PS Plus $4.89
• Okabu Regular $14.99, Sale $10.49, PS Plus $7.34
• PayDay: The Heist Regular $19.99, Sale $13.99, PS Plus $9.79
• Rochard Regular $9.99, Sale $6.99, PS Plus $4.89
• Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken Regular $11.99, Sale $8.39

I remember hearing that this would be happening … but had subsequently forgotten. Anyway, today Star Trek Online launched a new Free-To-Play (what I sometimes call ‘Freemium’) mode, that allows you to enjoy taking on the role of a Starfleet captain with your own ship … for Free!

Here are some details:

Cryptic Studios announced the F2P model will be launching on January 17,2012. Become a captain and travel to all the iconic locations you love from the Star Trek franchise like the Academy or the First City of Qo’noS; all without spending a dime.

Players will be split into Silver and Gold members; Silver being those who opt for the

I am still finishing my reviews up on the great classic SNK game collection from PSN, but today I have great news – all of the games are on sale for 50% off from now until January 24th! Apparently today Sony is launching a huge PSN sale (haven’t seen anything yet, but will definitely communicate it when I do), and SNK is featuring ALL of their games!

Here is a complete list of all SNK PLAYMORE NEOGEO Station titles(PS3™ Ver.) included in the January PlayStation®Store sale promotion:

ALPHA MISSION II
ART OF FIGHTING
BASEBALL STARS PROFESSIONAL
BASEBALL STARS 2
FATAL FURY
LEAGUE BOWLING
MAGICIAN LORD
METAL SLUG
METAL SLUG 2

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the sale that Amazon was having that allowed you to make use of the $5 discount code they gave out at the end of 2011. That sale ended ONE DAY later … and since then the deals on the ‘best-selling games of 2011′ have been pretty thin. But this week Amazon is featuring a great deal each day.

Here is the list with links:
1/16 – Dragon Age Origins Ultimate Edition + Dragon Age 2 Bundle [amazon.com]: $11.99 – $6.99 with $5 Holiday Promo Code
1/17 – Medal of Honor [amazon.com] – $6.99 – $1.99 with $5 holiday promo code
1/18… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

We know that Dan is a big fan of the Sonos Wireless HiFi system based on his reviews last year of the PLAY:5 and PLAY:3, as well as his recent video showing how easy it is to set up the system. One thing that holds some people back from a Sonos system is the cost associated with it. Even though these are high-performance systems, the initial entry cost may be high enough to cause some hesitation in the purchasing process. (Though Dan has said to me that it is well worth it.) Well, Target is sweetening the deal for a limited time, so if you haven’t yet made the jump and are interested, read on.… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

This weekend Big Fish games is celebrating 100,000 Facebook fans by giving away the game Nightfall Mysteries: Asylum Conspiracy for FREE for either Mac or PC (separate entries).

If you are having issues with the automated system or don’t have a Facebook account but still want the deal, you can use the code 100KFANS to get the deal! Head to the Nightfall Mysteries page and add to your cart and use the code at checkout!

Similarly, Big Fish also has deals going on for Fairway Solitaire using the code FREEFAIRWAY at checkout … and… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Dan recently reviewed the Drobo data storage system from Data Robotics. I have owned one for several years and also love it for its flexibility. Imagine my surprise when I found out that for today only, you can get a new Drobo for 50% off!

This offer applies to the standard Drobo only, not the other products in the Drobo line, such as the Drobo S or Drobo FS. Pick up a Drobo for 50% off the normal $399 price, bringing the price down to $199, today only. Simply use the discount code FRIDAY13 and the 50% discount will be applied.

Welcome back to another weekend of game deals for you to enjoy! You might notice that this week is a bit slower than previous weeks … but there are still some great deals!

As a reminder, I have refocused on only those sites I feel bring great deals AND great customer experience to the table, including Amazon, Beamdog, Desura, DotEmu, GamersGate, Mac App Store and Steam. Also, I am more tightly focusing on deals of 75% off or more, with occasional 50% sales, but in addition will also be trimming back to fewer than 25 deals per site to keep the list under control.

I am continuing my ‘top weekend deals’ section where I grab my favorite 5 or so deals of the week and provide direct links! For these games I select based on how good the game is as well as how sweet the deal – but each week there are great games at fantastic discounts! And as always thanks to the crew at Deals4Downloads for their help finding everything. This week I am also going to start properly alphabetizing my list by store!

TOP WEEKEND DEALS!

• Nation Red for $2.50, Save 75% – from Steam
• Dead Space 2 for $5.00, Save 75% – from Amazon
• Deus Ex: Human Revolution Augmented Edition for $14.98, Save 75% – from Green Man Gaming
• Men of War: Vietnam Special Edition for $10.00, Save 75% – from BeamDog
• Mass Effect 2 for $4.99, Save 75% – from GamersGate

Today’s Gear Deal brines us a 42″ Sharp AQUOS LC-42D69U 1080p LCD HDTV. It features 4 HDMI inputs, a 6.5m response time, speakers and more. Normally on sale for $549.99 our Gear Sponsor has found it for just $529.99. Details and ordering can be found here.

Gear Deal: Sharp AQUOS LC-42D69U 42″ 1080p LCD HDTV

Apparently just having a massive pre-Christmas sale wasn’t enough … now EA Mobile is having ANOTHER big sale, this one called the ‘New Years’ Sale. The site says ‘ends soon’ but offers nothing more concrete – so don’t delay!

There are once again a ton of games on sale – Dead Space, FIFA, Shift2, Theme Park, Scrabble, Boggle, Mirror’s Edge … and loads more!

Head to EA Mobile to check out the deals or to the iTunes App Store to grab some great games for great prices!

Most internet users trust Google implicitly for several things: for myself, I use them exclusively for Search, my phone is Android, I rely on Google Maps, do tons with YouTube, edit documents in Docs, browse RSS feeds in Reader, have my daily News fix, have Picasa on my PC for images, and so on. Yet anyone reading my Android editorials knows that I am fully aware that Google is monetizing my actions … big time.

For me, a for-profit company that never asks me for money is MUCH scarier than one that does, since I know it is still getting money from me, or from my habits or… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

I had written about Walmart offering $50 in iTunes credit for $40 … now Best Buy is getting in on the deal!

Here is the list of deals:

Apple – iTunes $15 Code (Digital Delivery) – Sale – $12.00
Apple – iTunes $25 Code (Digital Delivery) – Sale – $20.00
Apple – iTunes $50 Code (Digital Delivery) – Sale – $40.00
Apple – iTunes $100 Code (Digital Delivery) – Sale – $80.00

Or direct links to the $50 for $40 deal and the $100 for $80 deal.

Source: SlickDeals

If you follow digital music trends, you surely know about Coldplay. This year their Mylo Xyloto album sold nearly 1 million copies – and most of them were digital. But more than that, they were the highest profile group to completely remove themselves from Spotify, something every digital service will need to deal with in 2012. For today, Amazon is featuring all Coldplay albums on sale – Mylo Xyloto is $4.00, and the rest are $2.99 each!

Here are all of the $2.99 albums:
Viva La Vida
A Rush of Blood to the Head
X & Y
Parachutes
Live 2003

And there newest release Mylo Xyloto… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

One of the most hotly anticipated games of 2012 is Mass Effect 3 from Bioware. The finale of the popular story-driven RPG-shooter hybrid arrives on March 6th and will cost $60 regardless of platform. But if you head to NewEgg this weekend you can grab it for $48!

Earth is burning. Striking from beyond known space, a race of terrifying machines have begun their destruction of the human race.

As Commander Shepard, an Alliance Marine, your only hope for saving mankind is to rally the civilizations of the galaxy and launch one final mission to take back the Earth.

Head to NewEgg and pre-order the PC version of Mass Effect 3 NOW! And

Welcome back to another weekend of game deals for you to enjoy! You might notice that this week is a bit slower than previous weeks … but there are still some great deals!

As a reminder, I have refocused on only those sites I feel bring great deals AND great customer experience to the table, including Amazon, Beamdog, Desura, DotEmu, GamersGate, Mac App Store and Steam. Also, I am more tightly focusing on deals of 75% off or more, with occasional 50% sales, but in addition will also be trimming back to fewer than 25 deals per site to keep the list under control.

I am continuing my ‘top weekend deals’ section where I grab my favorite 5 or so deals of the week and provide direct links! For these games I select based on how good the game is as well as how sweet the deal – but each week there are great games at fantastic discounts! And as always thanks to the crew at Deals4Downloads for their help finding everything. This week I am also going to start properly alphabetizing my list by store!

TOP WEEKEND DEALS!

• X-COM: Complete Pack for $5.09, Save 66% – from Steam
• Planet Alcatraz for $9.95, Save 67% – from Amazon
• Gothic III Gold Edition for $4.98, Save 75% – from Green Man Gaming
• Space Trader for $1.99, Save 67% – from Mac App Store
• Deus Ex: Human Revolution for $16.98, Save 73% – from GamersGate
• Syberia Pack for $7.49, Save 40% – from DotEMU